Search

“I opened the door and walked into the warmth, the laughter, the acceptance, and the love that is AA. No one asked me who I was or what I wanted; no one asked me how much money I had or what I did for a living; no one asked me where I did my drinking or what my sexual preferences were. The smiling man who greeted me told me that night that if I thought I had a drinking problem, I was in the right place.”

“In the years that lie just ahead Alcoholics Anonymous faces a supreme test – the great ordeal of its own prosperity and success. I think it will prove the greatest trial of all. Can we but weather that, the waves of time and circumstance may beat upon us in vain.”

“For my sake, as well as the well-being of the women I sponsor, I stay within what I know. I tell them I’m not a mother, sister, favorite aunt, therapist, counselor, guru, spiritual advisor, AA authority, and sometimes not even a friend. I’m just another drunk who didn’t drink and didn’t die...”

“Though my sobriety had come easy, the growing up business hadn’t. Both emotional and spiritual growth have always been mighty difficult for me.”

“Times change, people change, and language may change. But the disease of alcoholism does not change. It always kills.”

“I’ve found that I’m not a cordless model: I need to plug into God in the morning and check in several times a day just to make sure I’m still plugged in.”

“I make a conscious effort to keep it simple, because the simpler I make it, the happier I become.”

“Belonging to a group makes life an opportunity for me ... something to encourage the best in me while it helps to keep me humble about the worst in me.”

“Our fellowship has been permitted to achieve -- though still in miniature -- the ‘one world’ dream of philosophers. Ours is a world in which we can hotly differ, yet never think of schism or conflict as a solution.”

“At my very first AA meeting ... I heard words of love, understanding and compassion ... I believe the hand of God reached down at that meeting and healed me. For from that day thirty-eight years ago to this, I have not had a desire to drink or escape from reality again.”

“The rewards of asking for help – increased humility, connection, and trust – are well worth the effort.”

“We shall never be at our best except when we hew only to the primary spiritual aim of AA. That of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers alcoholism.”

“Good things increase in direct proportion to my willingness to become teachable.”

“All AA progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words: humility and responsibility.”

“It is our experience as alcoholics that makes us of unique value ... We can approach sufferers as no one else can.”